Blockbuster is History: New Media Consumption Has Taken Over

[Corey Dutton]

The fat lady officially sang for Blockbuster this month as the entertainment retail chain’s new owner, Dish Network, announced the closure of 1,500 stores. The failing Blockbuster chain was purchased by Dish Network in 2011 in a bankruptcy auction for $320 MM. Many industry observers thought this was a smart purchase as they speculated that Dish Network’s strategy was to revamp the chain into a new concept. But since the purchase, Dish Network has done nothing with the chain of 1,500 stores until their recent closure, announced officially this month. I guess industry observers were wrong, maybe this wasn’t a good acquisition by Dish Network after all? (Source: National Real Estate Investor: http://nreionline.com/blog/blockbuster-close-remaining-stores#comment-3261 )

This is another example of the how our new economy has transformed the way we consume media and entertainment. Blockbuster’s business model was essentially annihilated by new media consumption. The Internet has allowed people to access infinite titles from infinite genres. And as the average household has become more and more comfortable with the Netflix medium, this was certainly the death knell for Blockbuster. A poor business decision by Dish perhaps? What are your thoughts on this sour topic?